


Secret Scenes of a Secret Trio

by SheisaCShelz



Category: American Dragon: Jake Long, Danny Phantom, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja
Genre: The secret trio - Freeform, scene dump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-04-16 06:45:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14159082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheisaCShelz/pseuds/SheisaCShelz
Summary: #6: Danny has summer school, Howard has a fit, and Julien has a new book on the arcane. All in all, it sums up to a pretty regular day for Randy.As advertised, a bunch of scenes from silly to serious on the Secret Trio and their shenanigans, history, and butt-whooping missions.  In other words, I'm not sure how their worlds would intersect and I don't have time to dedicate to a real story so I'm playing around, both with the ideas and the writing style.





	1. Scary Eyes

“GAH!”

Randy jumped and put a hand on his chest as though he could physically keep his heart from racing away. The words ‘humongonormous reptile’ and ‘RUN FOR YOUR LIFE’ flashed across his sight before it cleared and Jake grinned down at him from above, perched perfectly on the top of the lockers in the dim daylight.

“Yo, Randy,” he greeted cheerfully, letting his forked tongue peak out between a row of wicked teeth.

Randy scowled and straightened. “What the juice, Jake! Uncool, my man, uncool-KYEEK!”

He turned away from the smirking dragon and came eye-to-eye with a pair of glowing green ones suspended in midair.

Randy growled and glared from underneath his bangs, fists clenched and goosebumps tingling.

“What up, dude?” Danny ditched the invisibility to grin widely at him, floating casually on his stomach in full ghost mode.

“You guys!” Randy burst out. “THIS IS SO TOTALLY UNFAIR!”

The super-powered duo grinned widely at each other over his head. Randy scowled, snatched his bag, and started stomping down the deserted hallway, muttering things like ‘pair of schoobs’ and ‘so wonk’ under his breath.

Jake easily hopped down to stand next to Danny, who switched back to Fenton. “We should really stop giving him the scary eyes,” he commented.

“…Yeah, sure.”

The ghost and the dragon exchanged looks. Danny’s eyes flared a vibrant, otherworldly green like a neon sign. Jake’s pupils became slit, and the irises flared with amber fire. Grins split their faces.

Yeah, not a chance. Spooking the Ninja kid was just too fun.

“Howard!” Randy called as he entered his best friend’s room. “I need help, and I need it, STAT!”

“So you need a pair of scary eyes?” Howard pondered, putting on his ‘I’m-unraveling-the-deep-mysteries-of-the-universe-please-stand-by’ face. He absentmindedly licked a finger clean.

“They’re driving me NUTS!” Randy ranted. “They’re TEASING ME! UPSTAGING me! Upstaging _the Ninja!”_ He grabbed at some of his ruffled hair. “Howard, _what do I do?”_

“Cunningham, you are in league with ghosts and dragons now. Scaly reptiles that can cook you like a perfectly-done rump roast and then bite you in half, and demons that can eat your very soul! Supernatural creatures the likes of which no regular mortal can compete. This is serious stuff.” Howard fixed him with a firm look. “But trust me, do exactly what I tell you, and you’ll have a look that would even send the Sorcerer running!”

The next day, Randy marched right up to Jake and Danny right before homeroom. He looked them dead in the eye, lifted his chin as regally as he could manage, frowned as hard as he could, and thought the most horrible thoughts he could at them:

_‘I hope you get French fries made out of charcoal and bark. May the gravy on your fries taste like motor oil and horseradish! And-‘_

“Randy!” Danny looked startled. “Are you feeling alright?” He frowned. “What happened to your face?” When that still didn’t get a response, he leaned down to Jake and whispered, “What’s he doing?”

Jake shook his head. “I dunno, man, but he looks like one seriously jacked up cuckoo.” He squinted. “Is his eye twitching? How do you even get your face to look that… _asymmetric?_ ”

Randy waved a threatening finger at them, getting madder by the second until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“HELLO!” he shouted. “Scary eyes? Scary! Eyes!”

Jake chuckled through his fist. He practically bit it trying not to laugh.

“Oh, come ON!” Randy shouted at the ceiling. Flute Girl gave him an especially wide berth as she passed.

“It scared me,” Danny offered, then smiled. “I thought we’d have to check you into an asylum,” he joked.

“You. Suck.” Randy glared again.

“Dude,” Jake said, “you look like some sick wacko. Granted, sick wackos are scary enough, but you need that intimidating edge.”

Danny casually leaned on Jake’s shoulder. “That ‘you know nothing, you ignorant slime’ vibe.”

“Some of that ‘I can decimate you and you won’t even see it coming’ ‘tude,” Jake waved off.

“That fine ‘I’ll do what I want and you can’t stop me’ threat.”

Randy _steamed_ in front of them. “I got all that, you jerkwads! See?!”

Randy’s Scary Eyes earned him a textbook to the face and a scream of _‘You lunatic!’_ from Debbie Kang. He glowered as Danny and Jake howled with laughter behind him.

(And he never did achieve Scary Eyes, either, although that look did indeed send a stanked kid running half an hour later.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, Randy's the odd one out in my book...for a lot of reasons. Here's one: he's 100% human (although I like that about his character).


	2. A Matter of Life and Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dragon has a responsibility to all the magical creatures across America, and the Phantom desperately hopes it applies to them too.

The summer night was dark and peaceful and Jake curled under his covers, a content smile on his face. He was on the verge of falling asleep when the air turned chilled and burned as he breathed in, flicking him on high alert for a millisecond before something hummed, something else popped, Haley screamed loudly the next room over, and a figure so cold it burned rammed right into Jake’s feet, crushing half of his bed, shattering his lights in a brilliant flash of tangling electricity, and leaving a sizable crack in his floor.

_“DRAGON UP!”_

The thing staggered to its feet, taking a few swaying steps to the side as Jake assessed the threat. It was…yeah, he had no idea what it was, and the thought of coming anywhere near it made his scales prickle. If he was being generous – really, really, _really_ generous – he would vaguely call it a kid in some of the rattiest clothing ever. The black t-shirt and the jeans were speckled with fraying holes, and the shoes looked ready to fall apart and crumble at the slightest touch. The kid himself looked even worse though. Arcs of brilliant lightning ran over him, from his grey hair to his misshapen toes. Hades, Jake’s enhanced vision could even see lightning sparking across his eyes and each spark made the kid twitch and jerk. The air hummed and flamed white with a neon greenish edge around him, like the world’s worst short circuit, and Jake didn’t want to touch _that_ , no sir!

He could faintly hear his parents calling down the hallway underneath the electric buzz the creature gave off and Haley squeaking something. He had hardly opened his mouth to demand the creature _get the heck out of his home and away from his family_ when it beat him to it.

“H-!-elp uzzz!” the creature cried in a voice that hitched and popped just like the electricity arcing all over him. “You-pop!- ou help(!) magick’al k’reatchurrrrz! We counnn-ownt, right!”

The thing stared at him expectantly, and his head snapped left as a bolt flew over his neck, but his eyes – what were they, green? White? – his eyes never broke from Jake’s.

“JAKE! What’s going-!” His mom froze in the doorway and blocked his dad with her arm. “ _Jake!_ Get out of there!”

Jake nervously eyed them, but the creature didn’t seem to even hear them.

“We-!-e k’ount! We’rrrre hummmm-ere!” The voice took on a hysterical twinge. Jake had been in enough emergency situations to recognize desperation when he heard it, even in a voice warped so badly that he could only understand every other word. The thing’s face spasmed as a tiny, flaming bolt raced over its cheek, the muscle twitching and sticking fast into an unnatural position. “We k!-k!-kown-nt! Weeee _do_ k’nt! Hel-p! us, p-pop!-leazzz!”

Jake held up a wickedly clawed hand, trying to get his thoughts in order. “Okay, first, you’re going to have to give me a lot more info than that if you want me to help you, and second, _barging into my_ -“

“G-K!-g’uys innn Hwhit-t-t,” the figure hummed and popped. “Bazzze j’owst out-t-tsi-zzzzid-! Hammit-ee P-pop!-ark’kch! Zztill-ill havvvve-uh uh-thhher-!-zz, s-s-sti-k!-ill hhhave _her!_ Sss-!-save hem-kch!” it begged. “Z-z-za-”

So the good news? It wasn’t attacking him; it was here to beg for his help. The bad news? This thing was incredibly dangerous, and incredibly desperate and that combination was making it really hard for Jake to do anything when all he wanted to do was turn tail and run from the thing that looked ready to blow apart like a supernova.

“Okay, I need you to calm down,” he ordered, holding his hands out placatingly. “You’re panicking. Just calm down.” He eyed the flaming arcs of electricity warily, the lights leaving spots in his vision. “Tone down the light show-“

The thing drifted closer and Jake flinched as it gave off a particularly savage bolt, its leg twisting with a snap. His spines stood on end and fire rose to his throat, unbidden.

“Wi-ick!-ll yooooou hemm-elp(!) u-u-uss? Wuh-wuh-will you save them?”

Jake leaned away. “Yes, I’ll help you. I’ll do my best, but you need to tell me what’s going on, and you need to give me a bit of personal spa-.” Jake abruptly cut off when the thing collapsed. “Uuuuuuuh…” It looked about as unconscious as a sparking lightning creature could get. Even in its sleep, the lightning ripped and flamed over it constantly, the popping and humming incredibly unnerving.

“Jake! Get away from that!” his dad demanded. Jake flew over and Haley looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes as a lightning bolt decimated the metal handle on his nightstand.

“Mom, could you get Grandpa and Fu over here? I think we have an emergency on our hands.”

_

In a not-so-secret and very white ghost hunting agency’s base roughly 850 miles away, a heavily-bandaged Agent M was typing one-handed into a keyboard.

_Experiment #54, Trial 3, on Specimen P was successful. The ectoplasmic structure decayed rapidly when exposed to Chemical 3DP-V23 until it had retreated into the ecto-electric core where it regenerates itself, making this chemical the most successful. It then proceeded to attack the stable core and successfully caused it to heat. This is phenomenal progress considering Specimen P has an ice core. The core, originally at -5_ _°C, achieved a temperature of 25.12_ _°C after 66 minutes, after which decay progressed rapidly. The temperature rose to 35_ _°C after 3 additional minutes at an increasing rate. We were unable to collect further data because the equipment short-circuited due to the specimen’s response._

_It is conjectured that as Specimen P’s core approached room temperature, it began to change state. The lightning suggests it was transforming into a different type of core to adapt to the new environment, but recent evidence from Fenton and Fenton (2007) convincingly asserts that one defining feature of ectoplasmic entities is their inability to adapt to new environments. The lightning may have been a response from the change in temperature, but conductivity of ectoplasm decreases with rising temperature. The most likely theory is that the core was being destroyed and the lightning was the medium through which the energy was being released. To understand this response, additional studies need to be conducted-_

“Very nice,” Agent J approved, reading over her shoulder. “We just need to be careful; we only have one specimen left.”

“We just need to be persistent,” Agent M answered, glowering at her mug of coffee. “I’m sure if we are patient we will capture another ghost with an ice core with time.”

“Perhaps, but we have a unique opportunity here. Let’s not waste our second Phantom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this idea. It could get pretty dark and I don't know how Randy would fit in, but this is a possible idea of how Danny and Jake first meet...might write a follow-up one-shot if my muse gets inspired.


	3. Long-Distance Name-Calling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #3: Today's technology is just amazing, and used for amazing things.

_Jake Long’s nickname has changed to tiny-ass dragon_

**_tiny-ass dragon_** HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?!!!!!

 ** _randy_** when yur invincible leadah gets hisself shrunk to size of penny peeps take notice

 ** _danny_** what?

 ** _randy_** check yur newsfeed

_Danny Fenton’s nickname has changed to clueless shoob_

**_tiny-ass dragon_** why would I be on fb…

 ** _tiny-ass dragon_** WAIT YOU GUYS HAV HOLLA

 ** _randy_** naw man

 ** _randy_** least i dont. No humans allowed. Tried it with da SUIT to but no cheez

 ** _tiny-ass dragon_** THEN HOW DID YOU KNOW

 ** _randy_** scrolled thru Drag’nWatch

 ** _tiny-ass dragon_** ?

 ** _tiny-ass dragon_** what the hell

 ** _randy_** its a dragon watch. Everyone drags their friends on it to watch you bro

_Randy Cunningham’s nickname has changed to Creeper_

**_tiny-ass dragon_** THE HELL

 ** _clueless shoob_** LOLZ rotf DYING

 ** _clueless shoob_** AGAIN

_Jake Long’s nickname has changed to AmDrag_

**_AmDrag_** CREEPS

_Jake Long’s nickname has changed to AmSmallDrag_

**_AmSmallDrag_** DANNY!

 ** _clueless shoob_** what? Tis tru

 ** _AmSmallDrag_** Fu made counter potion

 ** _AmSmallDrag_** the AmDrag is full-size and ready to take names and kick butt yo!

 ** _AmSmallDrag_** so no longer accurate

 ** _clueless shoob_** from where i stand?

 ** _clueless shoob_** always accurate

 ** _Creeper_** did yu at least keep dat one extra mm when you shrank?

 ** _clueless shoob_** actualy from where i sit too

 ** _clueless shoob_** who shrank you anyway

_Randy Cunningham’s nickname has changed to Robin_

**_AmSmallDrag_** cause underneath that unfashionable suit and bad wordplay your a Dick

_Danny Fenton’s nickname has changed to Ozone Sniffer_

**_AmSmallDrag_** may it kill you the rest of the way

 ** _Ozone Sniffer_** can it? I dont think it can

 ** _Robin_** why not?

 ** _Ozone Sniffer_** i dont need to breath in ghost form so…….

 ** _AmSmallDrag_** but if you breathe it it will kill human you

 ** _Ozone Sniffer_** but i dont breathe it so

 ** _Ozone Sniffer_** name invalid

_Danny Fenton’s nickname has changed to Ghostboy_

_Jake Long’s nickname has changed to AmDrag_

**_Robin_** I am honestly ok with dis name

 ** _Robin_** robin rocks

 ** _AmDrag_** Dick

 ** _Ghostboy_** robin is also ten times as smart as us combined and doesnt need a suit to be a ninja. You dont deserv to be robin

 ** _Robin_** hey!

 ** _Robin_** he has bats as a mentor. THE BATS I have gibberish spouting book of corse i dont measure up

 ** _Robin_** sometimes i think english isnt nomis first lang

 ** _Robin_** or second. Meby fifth…

 ** _Ghostboy_** or

_Randy Cunningham’s nickname has changed to Dummy_

**_Dummy_** wow. solid burn

_Randy Cunningham’s nickname has changed to BetterRobin_

_Danny Fenton’s nickname has changed to braindead zombie_

**_braindead zombie_** accurate

 ** _braindead zombie_** but srsly, who sharnk you? @JakeLong

 ** _AmDrag_** pixie wanting help settling a harvest dispute. Couldn’t see him at first so he shrank me

 ** _AmDrag_** LESSON LEARNED: DON’T IGNORE TINY VOICES YOU THINK ARE IN YOUR HEAD

 ** _AmDrag_** THEYRE NOT

 ** _BetterRobin_** *tiny voice* jaaaaaaaaaaaaake

 ** _braindead zombie_** but you okay now?

 ** _AmDrag_** yeah

 ** _AmDrag_** got it taken care of. Didn’t even miss curfew

 ** _braindead zombie_** perfect

 ** _braindead zombie_** may the mocking commence

 ** _BetterRobin_** *tiny voice* look out for the shoooooeee

 ** _AmDrag_** you’re a jerk

 ** _braindead zombie_** *tiny voice* ruuuuuuuuuuuuuun tiny-ass dragon

 ** _AmDrag_** I’m ignoring you

_Jake Long’s nickname has changed to Mushu_

**_Mushu_** IGNORE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Chicago and NYC are a 6-hr drive away, and while people pick out Norrisville in MD, come on! MD has no cacti or wild west history and the show for some reason loves it?? I say Arizona or New Mexico, and that's over 24 hr drive from Chicago. These boys may be a secret trio, but there's no way they're hanging out casually with each other all the time. Most of it's got to be social media and chat groups. (At least pre-portal, wink wink.)
> 
> Anywho, first time doing a chat. This was actually really fun, and flowed really well...


	4. Nonsenseville

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake's got a job to do, Danny doesn't want to have to deal with this nonsense, and Randy is confused.

“I am the Norrisville Ninja!”

The floating kid and the dragon in front of him exchanged dubious looks.

_“Say what?”_

“I,” Randy declared, striking another fabulous pose, “am the Norrisville Ninjaaaaaaa!” This, too, failed to get a response and Randy squinted at them. “Really? You really don’t-like, seriously, the juice, no idea-“

Nope, he’d have to explain this apparently.

**_Epic ninja story-mode voice!_ **

“For eight-hundred years, Norrisville has been protected by a ninja!”

“Whoa, bup-ba! I’m going to stop you right there,” the kid interrupted, closing his hand like he was pinching Randy’s lips shut.

“I’m sorry, but how does that make ANY sense?” the dragon demanded.

“Don’t question me!” Randy wagged a finger in front of them. “I am an eight-hundred-year-old member of the ancient Norissu clan-!”

“Norris- _u?_ ” the kid snorted. “Is that even a Japanese name?” He frowned and turned to the dragon. “Ninjas are Japanese, right?”

“Wow, way to be racist, Phantom.”

“Hey! I’m just saying, how the hell did a bit of Japanese culture get a European name and land in southwest America before the Japanese or the Europeans even knew it existed?”

Randy opened his mouth to explain, found that he couldn’t, and shut it again.

“Magic?” the dragon offered. Randy couldn’t read his expression very well (he wasn’t in the habit of reading things that had snouts, okay?) but from his tone, it sounded like a light barb.

The kid – Phantom – snorted derisively. “Oh, sure, what a great answer for everything,” he deadpanned.

No, that was definitely a smile, and it was showing an awful lot of teeth.

Randy cleared his throat. “Hello? Yeah, still here.”

“That’s still nice, I guess,” the kid said without missing a beat.

“Woah.” The dragon reared back. “Chill, dude. Any reason you’re being so prickly today?”

“How’s about… _magic_ ,” the kid replied as he unfolded a map.

“Seriously? I thought you were more mature than this-“

“Let’s just get this over with, okay? Look, I’m sorry, but I kind of have other places I want to be-“

“You think I don’t?” the dragon challenged.

“-and getting _dragged here against my will because I didn’t have any other choice_ -“

“Neither of us have a choice!”

“You were still a complete jerk about it though,” the kid grumbled. “Now where the hell’s this guy?”

The dragon snatched the map. “You’re holding it upside-down, genius.”

“And you’re the one trying to pinpoint the location of a thumbprint.” The ghost phased it out of his grip and then went completely intangible, turning his back on the dragon as his companion tried to grab the map back, smoke rising from his maw.

Randy’s head went back and forth between the duo, not sure what to make of them. His gut told him they weren’t malevolent, but they weren’t exactly friendly either. “Who are you looking for?” he asked cautiously.

The ghost brightened – literally. “Oh, hey! Maybe the Ninja of Nonsense-ville’s seen him!”

“I’m going to pretend that was an honest mistake and just correct you like the nice person I am: it’s Nonsense-ville. I mean, Norrisville! _Norris_ ville.”

“We’re looking for this Sorcerer. Apparently he’s trapped in a bottomless pit?”

_“Give me that map!”_

“Oh, a Sorcerer, huh?” Nervousness made his voice high-pitched and Randy rubbed the back of his head. “And what do you want with him?”

The ghost made a disgusted sound. “Apparently, since his sentence is to be sealed for eternity, he needs his meals delivered. We’re a fu-how old are you?”

Randy squeaked – with outrage, yeah, outrage. “I am over eight hundred years old!”

“He’s gotta be pre-pubescent with that squeak,” the dragon observed.

“Right,” the ghost nodded. His eyes then glowed a more furious shade of green. “ _We’re a freaking meal delivery service for a magical criminal._ ” He glowered at the dragon. “THAT is what you summoned me for.”

“Look, usually, someone has to open the goddamn pit to get it to him. You can just intangibly slip it in and slip out, no earth-shattering harm done, and it’ll take, like, two minutes.”

“A _magic meal delivery service_. And we’ve been searching for the thing for at least two hours! I have a life, you know.”

The dragon looked at him weirdly. “Uh, no you don’t.”

The ghost’s eyes glowed even brighter.

“Weeeeeeell, honestly you don’t have to worry about it. I helped the Sorcerer find peace a couple weeks ago,” Randy offered. “So there isn’t a Sorcerer imprisoned underneath Norrisville anymore. Isn’t that great!”

The ghost _growled._

“Wait, what?” The dragon looked at him attentively. “You’re going to have to explain that.”

“Preferably without me here. Can I go now?”

“Happily,” the dragon snapped back. _“Spirit go back from whence you’re from, now the job I charge is done.”_

The ghost poofed out of existence with an otherworldly _whoosh_ that made Randy’s hair stand on end. He heard a multitude of tiny clicks, too, and saw the dragon’s scales pricking up like goosebumps on human skin.

“Ugh, good riddance. Now,” the dragon said, turning to the Ninja expectantly. “I’m going to have to report this. What happened with the Sorcerer?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This reeeeeally bothers me about RC9GN show. The setting makes no sense, and we have no origin story for Norrisville. You couldn't take Norrisville and slip it into our world like you can with Amity Park or magical NYC. What the juice?!
> 
> Anyway, I LOVE the idea of a summonable Danny. Not entirely sure how it works yet - maybe Danny's a grump because only his ghost-half got summoned so he split in two, maybe he's upset because Jake summoned him out of an important test, or maybe the summoner can control the ghost and Danny doesn't want to have anything to do with it. Maybe all three! There will definitely be lots of Danny-summoning though. Other than that, this is kind of a piece of garbage though. I think there could be a much better introduction between the trio.


	5. Reverse CPR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ninja doesn't know reverse CPR, and it's a problem when you're trying to rescue a ghost from living.

Jake held the chalice as steadily as he could while the screeching, multi-armed, magical monster was sucked in. When the last bit of globbiness had disappeared with a screaming whoosh, he collapsed flat on the ground and felt every single bruise and burn scream for attention. _Burns_. Actual _burns!_ He was a flipping _dragon_ , and he had been burned! That energy had sure packed one hell of a punch-

“AAAAAHHH!” the ninja screamed. “OH my CHEESE!” His hands went to his cheeks and then one roughly grabbed and pulled at Jake’s wing, which felt strained and not up to this abuse. “OH MY CHEESE!”

Then Jake leaped to his feet like his tail had been hit by lightning. “DANNY!”

_“OOOOh my AAAAAHHHHH-!”_

Their ghostly comrade had been the distraction and paid for it with a massive blast of mystical monster mojo at point-blank range. The ghost lay crumpled on the ground a few feet away and deader than Jake had ever seen him. It was downright unnatural for Danny, who never set foot on the ground if he could help it, barely even had legs half the time, and was constantly twisting in the air as he playfully goaded them on.

Jake knelt next to the ghost and roughly laid him out flat on his back. “Come on, man, come on! Come on! _Danny!_ _Phantom!_ ”

The body was gooey beneath his hands and chilled, but Jake couldn’t tell if that was normal or not. The ninja helped him lay out the ghost’s limbs, gentler and less urgent.

They both gasped as a spark flared on the ghost’s face.

“Oh no oh no oh no! NO! No no no no no!” the ninja panicked. “DANNY! DON’T GO INTO THE LIGHT! DON’T LEAVE US!” he begged, falling to his knees as the light spread to encompass the ghost’s whole form. “DANNYYYY! YOU CAAA-HA-HA-HAAN’T!”

Jake sadly bowed his head and watched until the light flared too brilliantly for him to handle. He had to look away, and he honestly regretted so many words that it tugged at his heart. For all the times he’d been a jerk to Jake, the guy had still had a heart where it counted. And Jake would be lying if he said he didn’t deserve any of it. Yeah, he had had some things to say to Danny after the battle and now-

When the light finally faded, Jake opened his eyes, looked back, and near about jumped out of his scales.

_“Woah!”_

The ninja lowered his hands and gasped.

The kid beneath them didn’t so much as twitch. His mouth hung open and messy black bangs hung over his closed eyes. His white t-shirt stood out in the night. Jake eyed his jeans and sneakers.

“Hoookay, ah, Dragon? He’s breathing! He shouldn’t be breathing!” the ninja babbled. Jake’s attention snapped back up to the kid’s – Phantom’s – face to see the ninja holding a hand over his mouth. Then the ninja quickly checked for a heartbeat.

“HE HAS A HEARTBEAT?!” he howled. “THAT’S NOT RIGHT! HO my GOD! Okay, okay okay…CPR! Wait, you do that for living people. We need reverse CPR!” he panicked. He turned wide eyes on Jake. “DO YOU KNOW REVERSE CPR?!”

“Wait, Ninja-“

“Maybe we should call nine-one-one!” The ninja pulled out his phone and had dialed before Jake could stop him. “Wait, no service! Darn it!”

“Ninja-“

“Hooookay, okay, Ninja, you’re on your own. Reverse CPR. You don’t know shiz about REAL CPR, but it don’t matter, and that’s okay, ‘cause you’re doing REVERSE CPR! You don’t need to know real CPR!”

“Ninja!”

The ninja hovered over the boy and did his finger-wiggly thing, that thing he always did when he had to touch something and he really didn’t want to. “Maybe there’s a better way to kill him?” The ninja frowned. “You know what that sounds terrible. _Re_ -kill him?” The ninja’s eyes narrowed. “Waaaait a minute what am I doing again-“

_“Ninja!”_

The boy coughed raggedly, starting to come around. His eyes squinted open, then shot open when the ninja practically crawled on top of him to take a close – an extremely close – look.

“YOUR EYES!” he exclaimed. “They’re not doing that…that glowy thing!”

Danny stared back for a few moments before putting his hand right over the ninja’s face and shoving him away. He coughed again as he slowly brought his arms up to rest on his elbows, and he jumped a little and grimaced when he spotted his own t-shirt. “So…” he rasped. “Did we win?”

“Yeah we won, buddy!” the ninja answered.

“You did a great job. While it took out you, I managed to get in real close and capture it,” Jake provided. “You seriously took one for the team, yo. Also…” He tried to think of a way to say this sensitively.

“What the juice, you’re _alive?!_ ” the ninja blurted.

Danny let his head fall back with a groan. “Surpriiiiiiise,” he sang. “Too…tired…for jazz…hands…”

Jake and the ninja waited expectantly and Danny groaned again. “Also too tired to explain right now. Yes, I have a life. Half a life. I’m not totally dead.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jake stood up, wincing as his muscles ached. “Let’s continue this when we aren’t all beat to hell and back.”

The ninja, that dirty little bugger, jumped up like they hadn’t all been fighting some crazed degenerate monster. Jake envied that guy’s suit.

Danny staggered to his feet and swayed a little bit before straightening. Then he grinned at Jake and made grabby motions with his hands like a little kid. “Upsies. Do I get that dragon-ride now?”

Jake snorted, too tired to make a smoke ring. “Ninja, you’re young and spritely. You get to carry him.”

“Young?!” The ninja’s voice cracked. “I am eight hundred years old!”

“Not the way you jump around, you’re not,” Jake shot back as he opened his wings.

“Maybe I’m just super fit, from ninjaing all those years!”

“Alright. Old and super fit, you get to carry him.” Leaving no room for argument, Jake tiredly flapped his way into the air and set sail for the nearby village.

Danny smiled winningly at the ninja and made the same grabby motion. “Ninja-back ride it is!”

The ninja sighed but obediently let the ghostly boy climb up on his back before ninja-sprinting after the dragon. “Wow. You’re super light.”

“Half-ghost. Ectoplasm doesn’t obey gravity very well,” Danny murmured tiredly.

“Half ghost, eh? That sounds SO honkin’ bruce…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey. I really wanted to write some fanfic so here you go. A little rough around the edges, but I don't see Danny's secret ID coming out any other way. The guy would totally throw himself in harm's way, get blasted to life (heh heh), and freak out Randy.
> 
> So news: I have revised my opinion and now consider Norrisville to be in Idaho in the Snake River Basin. It's a desert (even though it doesn't have all those lovely saguaros in the show) but it's far enough north that it would get snow for that Christmas episode.
> 
> In other news, I still think the RC9GN show is relatively dumb. Entertaining, but nowhere near the quality of ADJL and DP. Someone prove me wrong!
> 
> ~Sheisa


	6. The First Summoning, Julien Ed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has summer school, Howard has a fit, and Julien has a new book on the arcane. All in all, it sums up to a pretty regular day for Randy.

Danny stared down at his worksheet, his grip on his pencil lose.

“All done, sweetie?” His mom looked up from the invention she was working on and pulled down her hood. She looked very cheerful, clearly content to sit at the kitchen table with him working on science while he worked on math.

Danny couldn’t have been more disgruntled. It was summer. He was stuck at the kitchen table doing summer school. He couldn’t check his phone subtly enough to prevent his mom from confiscating it. He had no idea if Sam and Tucker were managing okay. He really didn’t want to be here.

And he wasn’t just bad at math – he was _terrible_ at it. Worse than Technus at subtlety.

“You haven’t written anything in a while.” His mom peeked over his shoulder and frowned at the mess of scribbles. Two-thirds of the paper were blank. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Danny grumbled automatically, inwardly cringing. “I need to use the bathroom.”

His mom crossed her arms. “Daniel James Fenton, you need to finish your work. You do not need to use the bathroom, you just went an hour ago.”

“I’m my own person and perfectly capable of knowing when I need to use the bathroom and when I don’t,” Danny argued.

Maddie Fenton scowled. “I know. I also know that you’re using the bathroom as a cover-up for something I don’t know about. Nobody healthy goes as frequently and for as long as you. Mr. Lancer told me all about it and that bogus ‘bowel syndrome’ excuse you’ve been using. Don’t even think about trying that on me, young man. I am your mother and I know you have no such thing. What do you really do in there?”

“Nothing,” Danny grumbled bitterly.

His mother had long since accepted that she wasn’t going to get an answer. She pointed at his worksheet. “Then finish that.”

With an aggravated sigh, Danny went back to staring at his integrals, mind turning the problem over and over in his head like a car engine that wouldn’t start. _This is downright painful_ , he thought, cheek in his hand as he stared at the death machine his mom was welding. _I wish I wasn’t here._

Then it actually really _was_ painful.

Something in him jolted and Danny gasped sharply, muscles rigid. It had felt like someone had grabbed his heart and given it a sharp squeeze. What…

The swirling/tugging sensation abated for a moment but he could feel his core surfacing, the electric muscle melting into electric ectoplasm. He took deep breaths, eyes staring at the worksheet unseeingly, suddenly attuned to every slow heartbeat, the movements growing fainter and fainter until the steady hum of his core replaced it. What the-

“Oh, proto-poo. My transistors are spoiled! Be right back, honey.”

He dimly registered his mom’s footsteps as she headed for the lab, trying not to squirm at the squishy feeling of all his organs turning to ectoplasm, the ghostly goop swirling inside him. Alarmed, all he could do was stare at his hand with green, green eyes as the ectoplasm literally bubbled up and over his skin like foam on top of a stew, leaving behind the skintight black and white outfit Phantom was known for without his consent. He tried to breathe but it felt like his insides were twisting and the world was starting to curve, what the-!

With a nauseating swirl, he disappeared from the kitchen as though he’d never been there. The pencil clattered to the floor.

|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|

“Cun-ning-haaaam,” Howard whisper-whined.

“I know, I know,” Randy whispered back, not too worried about Julien hearing. The kid was talking animatedly a couple feet in front of them and didn’t appear to notice the reluctance of his companions, let alone their private conversation.

“It’s simply marvelous!” he gushed in his creepy way. “Written by a truly pedantic witch, well-versed in the arcane arts!”

“Cool cool,” Randy nodded along. “Come on, we’ve ditched him so much in the past,” he whispered to Howard. “He doesn’t deserve it, and besides, every time he does something freaky and the Ninja has to deal with it. Think of this as an investment: we babysit his creepy ritual now and it gives us more time for the Gamehole later.”

“Aaaargh fine!” Howard huffed. “But I am holding you to that!”

Julien abruptly turned. “Behold!” He yanked open the door.

Howard stared at it critically. “That’s the janitor’s closet.”

“Ehehe,” Julien giggled, and then promptly yanked them both in and shut the door.

“What are we doing in the janitor’s closet?” Howard demanded.

Randy heard a switch and a dim bulb flickered on above their heads. It provided just enough light for Randy to see the other boys’ faces. He had an intense urge to swat Julien’s hat off his head; the shadows it cast were disturbing and the black eyeliner wasn’t helping.

“Oh, I come here sometimes. To practice,” Julien said. “But today, I wanted to show you something truly magnificent. Behold!” he repeated, suddenly whipping a book up and in their faces.

Randy squinted, unable to read the title in the lighting. “What is it?”

“It’s a book, Cunningham,” Howard stated obviously, clearly still annoyed.

“Not just any book,” Julien declared. “A summoning book.” He flipped it open to what must have been the table of contents. “Look, spirits of the dead, hagsfiends from the far side, mummies of the Nile, they’re all here! And,” he leaned in close, his peculiarly-colored eyes glinting, “it’s all _real_.”

“Aaah…” Yeah, that explained a few of the monsters Randy had seen that week. “Really?” he squeaked out, voice pitched high as he suddenly realized what he had been going up against.

Julien cackled. But since it was Julien, it came out as a giggle. He opened the book to a random page and Randy’s eyes widened at the circle. He’d never seen one before, but he knew it was a summoning circle.

“Watch, my fellow compatriots, as we unleash a darkness this world has long forgotten! Our time has come!”

“Oookay, look, Julien, this is fascinating but can you maybe unleash forgotten darkness a little later? You know, like on your own time and when we’re not he-oof!”

Howard was interrupted when Julien leaped up, one foot landing on a stack of boxes, the other squarely on Howard’s cheek. Randy got clipped by a hand as Julien raised them zealously and smashed painfully into a corner of brooms and mops when he tried to leap away.

“Essagem, yr’rac im zdorw ot’eht tirips no’EHT rehto edis!”

The lettering began to glow in an eerie green that made Randy not-so-fondly reminiscent of the Sorcerer. “Ooooh that’s not good,” the ninija mumbled, his cheek mashed into the wire rack of a shelf and one foot stuck in the water bin with the mop.

“ _Cunninghaaaaaam_ ,” Howard ground out, effectively pinned. ‘I told you!’ he mouthed at Randy.

“Wodniw, hgouht ieb Gnivil, tnarg’em tcatnoc htiw’ehT mlaer tsap slatrom sesnes!”

The light flared brighter and Randy quickly reached out to try and flip the book closed. His foot slipped, the mop bucket went sliding, and by pure luck, his other foot flailed upwards and knocked the book off the stand. It landed in a heap on the ground, pages bent and binding squeaking.

Julien kept talking.

“What the juice!” Howard said, struggling to squirm out from under Julien’s foot. “Where is he even getting this from! Those aren’t even words!”

“Phantom KING, raeh’ym egassem dna’rewsna ym llac! EMTO!”

Suddenly, the nonsensical spew from Julien’s lips floated into the air in the Nomicon’s sloppy, neon script. The letters twisted around and-

“Message-spirits-window-mortal-phantom-call-Oh. My. Juice!”

But it was too late. The letters on the page flowed up and out of the book, twisting into position in midair. No longer made of ink, they glowed almost white as they circled faster and faster. A squiggly arrow suddenly appeared pointing at the window and blaring PORTAL like a neon sign. Exclamation points and tiny ghosts filled the air. Something the same shade swirled into existence in the center. A bright figure swirled into shape, the details to full of light to make out when-

“Oomph!”

Howard screamed as the figure shot straight to Julien, slamming into the dark boy with the force of a cannonball. When Randy blinked again, Julien was collapsed on a stack of sponges and rags.

And what could have only been a ghost staggered up, tripping on a box and collapsing unceremoniously on top of the unconscious creep.

It…wasn’t as scary as Randy had thought it would be.

With another scream, Howard threw himself at Randy and clung to him as the ghost stood up and braced itself, one hand on a shelf, the other over its mouth, green eyes wide and skin a pasty green-grey shade. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what had Howard so horrified. Besides the glowing and the white hair and grey complexion, Randy would have pegged him as just another kid.

The kid convulsed once, cheeks bulging and eyes growing even wider as he shuddered and then started to heave on top of his unfortunate summoner.

Oh. Well, that explained the complexion.

“Schnasty,” Howard whispered with a shiver. “So, Cunningham, can we leave _now?”_

“And leave Julien to get barfed on by a sick ghost?” Randy whispered back. The ghost heaved again. He paused. “Actually, I’m not sure which one I feel worse for, the ghost or Julien.”

“Don’t be a nicewad,” Howard hissed at him.

“I would honestly feel like a terrible person for walking away from this,” Randy whispered.

“Walking away from a fight that isn’t yours and that isn’t even happening does not make you a shoob,” Howard argued. “Ditching on your BEST FRIEND makes you a shoob.” Seeing that Randy wasn’t convinced, Howard tightened his grip on his friend and rolled on top of him.

“Ouch! Howard,” Randy moaned. “Now is not the time.”

“No! The time is always now,” Howard insisted. “I’ll get off when _we_ go to the Gamehole. _We_. That means me and you!”

Randy wheezed and sighed at the same time. Then in one fluid move, he dumped Howard on the ground and stood up. Howard blinked, slightly dumbfounded, as Randy moved a box out of the way so he could stand next to the panting ghost.

“Oh, come on!”

“There there,” Randy comforted, patting the ghost on the back. It was surprisingly firm. Chilly, but solid. “Deep breaths.”

The ghost gasped like a fish out of water, but its breathing did even out.

“Better?”

Spooky nodded. “What – the hell – happened? Where – am I?” he rasped out. Then he pulled a face and wiped his tongue against his teeth. “Eugh.”

“Julien – that creepy kid you just barfed all over – summoned you,” Randy answered.

“Just to be clear,” Howard hastily added, “HE summoned you. Not us. To tell you the truth, neither of us wanted to be here. At all. Right, Cunningham?” The portly kid edged towards the door, thumb brushing the handle.

“Summoned…me?” Spooky wondered. “How?”

“Well, he had this book-“ Randy started.

The ghost glanced down and then grabbed it. Its eyes illuminated the title on the cover – The Witch’s Compendium (Vol. I): Spirit Summoning. Flipping it open, he skimmed the table of contents. Mummies, hagsfiends, demons, spirits…aka ghosts. _Ingredients and Where to Get Them Fresh_ , one section read. And under it: _Blood Blossoms_.

Danny paled. He’d have to get Sam to take a look at it.

“-no need to be mad at us, right? You’re not going to, like, go crazy and start attacking us?”

Randy held his breath.

The ghost glanced up at him. “I’m confiscating this. Consider it my revenge.”

“You already barfed all over him,” Randy pointed out. He got a flat stare from inhuman green eyes and hastily backpedaled. “Although any peaceful resolution is good in my book!”

Raising an eyebrow, the ghost nudged Julien with the toe of his boot and suddenly Julien appeared…less than solid. The radioactive sludge – was that a piece of ham? – fell right through him and when the ghost jumped into the air, Julien returned to normal.

Howard shivered.

Spooky suddenly looked a lot more spooky as he floated in midair, his legs disappearing into a misty, twisting tail and his voice echoing in the tiny room. “Now, where am I?”

“Norrisville.” At the ghost’s blank stare, Randy clarified, “Idaho.”

Spooky grimaced and tucked the book under his arm. “Great. Well, it’s been real. It hasn’t been fun. Don’t call again. If you see another copy of this book, do me a favor and burn it. Ciao.”

And then he disappeared up through the ceiling.

Yikes.

Julien groaned a little, but didn’t move.

Howard looked to Randy. “Time to go?”

Randy eyed Julien, part of him feeling bad about ditching the socially inept boy alone and unconscious. On the other hand, it wasn’t like he was going to come to any harm. And Howard was upset with him…Randy sighed and turned away so Howard wouldn’t see how annoyed he looked. Just another one of those days. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion on this one wasn't that satisfying. Oh well. I guess I'll have to write again soon... :)
> 
> ~Sheisa


End file.
